Father of three shot chasing robbers from pub

A father of three is today fighting for his life in hospital after he was shot while confronting two armed robbers at his local pub.

Michael Smith was drinking in the Britannia pub in Bow on Thursday night when two men carrying a gun burst in demanded money.

They fled empty-handed after the landlord refused to hand over any cash.

However, Mr Smith, 47, chased the pair and was shot in the stomach at close range.

The building site foreman is now in a critical condition at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel. His partner Mandy Lovett and his three children Lee, 20, Terri, 18 and Michael, 14, have been keeping a vigil at his bedside.

Ron Martin, the landlord of the family-run pub, today paid tribute to Mr Smith, whom he described as a "fearless hero".

The 59-year-old said: "I was behind the bar just after 11pm when the two guys came in. They pulled the shotgun out and said, 'give us your money'.

"I just told them to f*** off. They started backing away to the door and left. Then Michael came out of the toilets and asked what all the noise was about.

"When I told him what had happened, he ran out of the door after them. He didn't even know they had a gun." .

Another friend of Mr Smith, who did not want to be named, said: ""He really is a have-ago-hero who went out there fearlessly."

Minutes before the raid, the robbers had struck at another Bow pub, the Railway Tavern. They entered at 10.50pm, held up four people and demanded to be shown the safe, but were scared off by dogs.

The Metropolitan Police are appealing to anyone in the vicinity of either pub between 10.50pm and 11.20pm last Thursday to call them on 020 8345 4210.